For about $50,000 a year over 20 years coupled with energy savings and other aid, Wiscasset schools could get about $1.89 million in improvements, according to figures a Scarborough firm gave the Wiscasset School Committee Oct. 20.

The numbers Siemens shared are early, as talks continue on the project’s scope. But committee member Chelsea Haggett voiced concern about how the spending would sit with some residents.

She said the town has undergone change and taxes have risen, so some people will focus on the spending the project requires, not the energy savings or the improvements to the buildings. Siemens’ energy audit the committee ordered in April found a number of areas to improve, including temperature issues staff cited and poor lighting.

“This could potentially be a hard sell,” Haggett said at a committee meeting following the workshop session with Siemens. “It’s a 20-year commitment. I think people are unsure about the future, and we’ll have to be very clear, just to educate people. We’ve had a lot of change in recent years in this community.” Regarding the town’s consolidating from three schools to two in 2015, Haggett commented that some people will say they thought the town was going to be saving money, not spending on the buildings. “A lot will see the benefit, but I know for some people the funding is all they’re going to look at.”

In an email response to questions Tuesday, Superintendent of Schools Heather Wilmot said she appreciated Haggett’s comments and had been reflecting on them. Wilmot is planning a short video, likely for Youtube, explaining performance contracting and its benefits. She will distribute it to families by email and put it on the department’s website. 

Energy costs are so low, the energy savings the project will yield cannot fully offset the work, Siemens K-12 market manager Tom Seekins said in the Oct. 20 workshop. The school department’s annual payment is so far projected at $50,000 based on what department officials have asked to include in the project, Seekins said.

The finance committee will revisit the project’s figures at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1 at the central office, Wilmot said. Plans call for the school committee to vote on the project Nov. 17 and take up financing options Dec. 15. Both meetings start at 6 p.m. in the Wiscasset Middle High School library.

The financing would involve a lease-purchase agreement rather than a bond, so a stand-alone town vote on the project is not needed, Wilmot explained in a series of emails. The payments would be part of the operating budget voters approve yearly. Wilmot wrote that, although there has been no commitment to a project, it appeared likely the first payment would be due in the 2018-19 budget year. “But there is no penalty for early payments, so there could be consideration for a payment or partial payment ... in the ‘17-18 budget.”

Reiterating that the figures will depend on the project’s scope, Wilmot wrote that a project of about $1.8 million would yield about $49,000 in annual savings on energy. In addition, Efficiency Maine offers a one-time, $78,000 incentive, Wilmot wrote.

If the school committee decides against a project, Siemens would be owed $14,986 for the energy audit, Wilmot said last spring; Seekins said Oct. 20, the firm has never had a school department forego a project after the audit.

Wilmot credited Siemens with telling the school department about PowerSave Advantage’s teacher training on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming for students. The projects will focus on energy and green jobs, Wilmot said. The department was one of three in Maine picked for the program, she said.

“(It was) super cool that you were able to grab that,” Seekins said. “I was excited for you.”